BORUMBA DAM SPILLWAY CAPACITY UPGRADE COMMENCES

Construction crews will soon start work on improving the safety of Borumba Dam, near Imbil by upgrading the dam’s spillway.

Water Minister Craig Wallace said the $5.1 million project is part of an ongoing spillway capacity upgrade program being conducted by SunWater to ensure its dams can effectively manage flood waters during an extreme rainfall event.

Mr Wallace said this was the third spillway upgrade undertaken by SunWater since the program began in 2005, and follows on from the successful completion of Fred Haigh and Bjelke-Petersen spillway upgrades.

Mr Wallace said SunWater developed the spillway upgrade program as a pro-active response to revised industry standards for dam safety.

Standards were increased following a revision of the method for the estimation of extreme rainfall by the Bureau of Meteorology, which showed that an extreme rainfall event may be more possible than was previously believed.

“While still an extremely rare event, the bureau considers rainfall of this nature as conceivable and as a responsible dam owner, SunWater has responded by assessing its water storages and ensuring they are capable of handling these rainfall events,” Mr Wallace said.

Mr Wallace said an assessment of Borumba Dam’s spillway found that it was extremely safe but an upgrade was necessary to better manage excess water.

“I commend SunWater for taking the view that while an event such as this is highly unlikely, anything is possible in light of the ever-changing and extreme weather patterns we have been witness to in the past few years,” he said.

Mr Wallace said water users would not bear the cost of the spillway upgrade as the project was fully funded by the dam owner.

Mr Wallace said SunWater understood the dam was a popular area for visitors and construction crews would endeavour to minimise disruption during the upgrade works.

Project Features:

• Work is expected to take nine months with completion by December 2008.
• A 1.59 metre-high reinforced concrete wall will be constructed across the top of the existing dam wall.
• As a safety precaution, access to the dam wall area will be closed from April until December 2008.
• Access to picnic area, boat ramp and car park will not be affected during construction.
• The spillway capacity upgrade will not increase the storage capacity of the dam.
• Water supply will not be disrupted during the project.
• Water users will not bear the cost of the spillway upgrade as the project is fully funded by the dam owner.

Media contact: Clare Gillic, Minister Wallace’s office, 3896 3688.